TMS MONTE CARLO

April 15, 2005

Rafael Nadal

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

RAFAEL NADAL: No, it was a very complicated and very difficult match. He was a bit nervous at the start. I learned the lessons from Buenos Aires, because then I rushed too much. This time, I played being more calm and I was waiting for him to miss. Also, I really wanted to oblige him to win if he wanted to win. Little by little, the points came on my side, and the result is there.

RAFAEL NADAL: Surprised, that's the only thing you can be. Because nobody thought Federer would lose today, and even less against Gasquet. But I must say Gasquet has a lot of potential. It cost him a bit of effort to come out of where he was. But now that he's out of it, I believe he's not going to stop; he's going to climb in the rankings. I don't know up to where exactly, but he's going to keep on improving his ranking.

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. It's going to be a semifinal. I think Gasquet won 16 matches in a row. I suppose he's playing well. It's going to be a very difficult match, but it's a semi of a Masters Series. It's going to be a nice match against a guy the same age as I am. I don't believe there is any favorite. If it means something, I'm higher in the ranking, but it's still going to be very difficult. I will have to be 100%. I will be so happy to win because then I would be for the second time in a row in a final, and this would be incredible, thinking about the objectives I had for the season.

RAFAEL NADAL: I played him only once; we were 13. Last time I played him was in Estoril. But every time I play against him, I get injured. Once I had to abandon the match because of my injury, and the second time they had to carry me off of the court because I was not even able to walk.

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't like to talk about that. There are many other players with a lot of potential. We all try to do as best as possible. But there are not only the two of us, there are many other players who will also enter into the top level of tennis, so I don't like to make any comparisons.